Lockheed Martin [LMT] and China’s State Nuclear Power Automation System Engineering Company (SNPAS) yesterday said they have signed an agreement to prototype, manufacture and qualify nuclear power plant reactor protection systems for China’s Generation III reactors.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. SNPAS is a subsidiary of China’s State Nuclear Power Technology Corporation (SNPTC).
Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin and SNPAS will develop a nuclear safety instrumentation and control platform, based on field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology, for a new generation of Reactor Protection Systems in China.
The agreement comes less than a week after U.S. President Barack Obama met June 7-8 in an informal visit–his first–with Chinese President Xi Jinping of China, who took office in March.
Obama said the two countries needed a new model of cooperation, and the summit stressed cooperation not conflict and paved the way for more top level meetings and bilateral cooperation at various levels.
“We recognize the importance of nuclear power as a critical energy alternative for increased demand and have been developing instrumentation and control systems for more than 55 years,” said Jim Gribschaw, general manager of nuclear systems and solutions at Lockheed Martin. “We are committed to creating and implementing industry-specific solutions for civilian nuclear power plants, ensuring the safety of critical power generating infrastructure.”
Qiu Shaoyang, general manager of SNPAS, said: “Nuclear safety is the most critical requirement for civilian nuclear power plants. SNPAS is dedicated to developing safe and reliable, advanced instrumentation and control solutions in order to meet China’s demand for safe and efficient development of nuclear power. We believe that the cooperation between SNPAS and Lockheed Martin will provide safer and more secure technical solutions and equipment for nuclear power plants worldwide.
The unique FPGA-based platform will specifically address safety and regulatory concerns related to software common-cause failures in digital nuclear safety systems, the companies said in a statement. These systems will autonomously and reliably monitor and detect potential failures in the system, ensuring the safe operation and function of the facility. The platform may be applied both in new plant deployment and in safety system upgrades for existing power plants.
“Our energy and climate initiatives closely align with SNPAS’s vision to address the expansion of China’s nuclear energy generating capacity and help mitigate carbon emissions caused by fossil-based energy generation,” Gribschaw said.
Lockheed Martin and SNPAS have submitted a Licensing Topical Report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and China National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) for generic digital safety instrumentation and control platforms that could be used in U.S., China and international civilian nuclear power plants. The NRC and NNSA are currently reviewing the report.